Dr. Li Wenliang, COVID-19 outbreak and the principle of beneficence El actuar del Dr. Li Wenliang ante el brote del COVID-19 a la luz del principio de beneficencia Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2020 Pontificio Seminario Mayor San Rafael. All rights reserved.This article analyzes the influence of the principle of beneficence as one of the ethical reasons that led ophthalmologist Li Wenliang to alert, using the Weibo platform, about the emergence of an epidemic outbreak different from SARS. Accordingly, we discuss the socio-political context of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in China. We assume that the principle of beneficence might be understood from an approach combining Western references - the first formulation of the Kantian categorical imperative and the Hippocratic legacy - with Oriental ones - the Ren or humanity, derived from Confucian thought. We conclude that in an interrelated world, with medical practices having universal scientific foundations, it is possible to validate medical ethical decisions from different cultural contexts, as long as progress continues in the field of an inter-civilizational dialogue with a horizontal perspective.

publication date

  • August 1, 2020